What's New in Zoho Inventory - January - May 2024

Hello, users!

We are back with the latest features and enhancements we've made to Zoho Inventory in the last few months. Let's take a quick look at what's new:

Customer and Vendor Portal Domain Change

We are updating the Customer and Vendor Portal's default domain from inventory.zoho.com/portal to inventory.zohosecure.com/portal for enhanced security. Starting June 5, 2024, users will automatically be redirected to the new domain. This change will not affect your users' data on the portal, including transactions, comments, and more. They will be able to access their portal as usual.

UPS v2.0 Shipping Integrations

We're excited to announce the new and improved UPS v2.0 integration, which leverages OAuth 2.0 for a more secure and seamless user experience in authentication. We've already started migrating our existing integration users to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted transition. UPS will stop providing new licenses starting from June 6, 2024.

Manually Push E-Invoices [India Edition]

You can now manually push your e-invoices to the IRN. If you wish to make any changes to the manually pushed e-invoices, you can delete the e-invoice from IRN, make the changes to the transaction in Zoho Inventory, and push it again. Once the associated e-invoice details are deleted from the IRN, the transaction's status will revert to Yet To Be Pushed.

Note: You can only delete e-invoices that are manually pushed.

Klarna Payment Method for Stripe [Global Edition]

Introducing Klarna, a global payment method now available in Zoho Inventory through Stripe. With Klarna, you can make payments immediately or split them in instalments. This offers your customers greater flexibility and convenience in managing their payments.

To enable Klarna: Navigate to Settings > Online Payments > Payment Gateways, and click Edit Settings under Stripe. Then, select the Edit icon next to Payment Methods, and choose Klarna from the list of payment methods.

Alipay Payment Method for Stripe [All Editions except India]

Alipay, a popular digital wallet in China, is now available as a payment method for Stripe payments in Zoho Inventory. With Alipay, you can securely make payments online. You can collect payments in Chinese Yuans from any location. Additionally, based on your Stripe account's location, you can receive payments in AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, SGD, MYR, NZD, and USD.

To enable Alipay, navigate to > Online Payments > Payment Gateways, and click Edit Settings under Stripe. Then, select the Edit icon next to Payment Methods, and choose Alipay from the list of payment methods.

UPI ID Option for Invoice QR Codes

We have introduced the UPI ID option for your invoice QR codes. You can include your UPI ID as a QR code in the PDF of your invoices. This allows your customers to scan the QR code with their device and make payments directly to your UPI ID.

To use this feature, go to Settings > Sales > Invoices > General and select UPI ID as the QR code type in the Invoice QR Code section.

WhatsApp Integration

You can now link your WhatsApp to your Zoho Inventory organization, which enables direct notifications of payments and sales transactions to your customers. You can customize it for marketing and sales templates for each module to send notifications, as well as directly initiate conversations with your customers from your Zoho Inventory organisation

To enable WhatsApp for your customers: Navigate to Sales > Customers, select a customer, and edit their Primary Contact or Contact Person details on the overview page. Then, mark WhatsApp as their Communication Channel.

New Unique Quantity Codes for Items

We have added two new unit codes to the Unique Quantity Codes: BAL (Bale) and TGM (Ten Gross). A Bale refers to materials packaged together, while Ten Gross represents a quantity of 1,440 items. These units are especially useful for businesses dealing with wholesale goods.

To access this option: Click Configure Units from the Unit dropdown in the Item creation or edit page.

Bulk Export Option for Two Reports

We have introduced a bulk export option that allows you to export over 50,000 rows of the Inventory Aging Summary and Inventory Valuation Summary reports. You can choose to export the report in sections or as a full report. These reports are in early access and available only in the Premium and higher plans. You can contact support@zohoinventory.com to enable it in your organisation.

Send Item Identification Codes for Electronic Invoicing [Mexico Edition]

You can now include unique codes, such as the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU), when sending item details to SAT for e-invoicing. By default, no code will be shared with SAT, however, you can configure it under item setting when needed. Once configured, the code will be visible in the item table of the transactions. Additionally, you can choose to send a single code for all items in your organization.

You can also include codes such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), European Article Number (EAN), International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and Manufacturer Part Number (MPN).

To configure this preference: Go to Settings > Taxes & Compliance > Electronic Invoicing> Edit icon next to Item Information.

Additional VAT Treatment Options [UK Edition]

We've introduced VAT Exempt and Out of Scope VAT treatment options for items. These options are available only for customers whose VAT treatment is set as United Kingdom or Overseas Customer. VAT Exempt can be applied only to items that are classified as services.

Safaricom M-PESA Integration [Kenya Edition]

The Safaricom M-PESA integration is now available in Zoho Inventory. M-PESA is a digital mobile payments service in Kenya that lets you seamlessly process payments using e-wallets. You can set up the integration and receive payments in Kenyan Shillings from your customers.

To enable Safricom M-PESA: Go to Settings > Payment Gateway > Alternate Modes > Set Up Now near Safricom M-PESA.

Give these features a try and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. If you have any queries, send an email to support@zohoinventory.com. We'll be happy to help.

Regards,

The Zoho Inventory Team